Cancellation Policy

Overview

Life is unpredictable, and sometimes you will need to cancel a booking. The Secret Society has a clear cancellation policy designed to balance user flexibility with fairness to venues and other participants. Understanding this policy — particularly the 4-hour rule — will help you cancel responsibly and protect your account from penalties.

The 4-Hour Rule: What It Is and Why It Exists

You can cancel your booking without penalty up to 4 hours before the event. This is the core of the cancellation policy, and it exists for a specific and practical reason.

When you cancel early enough, the platform has time to:

• Release your spot back into the system
• Offer the spot to another interested user
• Allow another participant to accept, confirm, and prepare to attend
• Notify the venue of any changes to the guest count

Four hours is the minimum time needed for all of this to happen effectively. Cancelling within this window means your decision does not harm anyone else — the system can absorb the change and redistribute the opportunity fairly.

Cancelling within the 4-hour window is considered responsible participation. It demonstrates that even when you cannot attend, you are acting with consideration for the platform, the venue, and other users.

How to Cancel a Booking

To cancel a booking:

1. Open the app
2. Navigate to your current bookings — either in "To Confirm" or "To Visit" depending on the stage of your booking
3. Locate the event you need to cancel
4. Follow the cancellation steps within the app

Make sure you cancel through the app properly. Informing a venue directly, sending a message to support, or simply not showing up are not valid forms of cancellation and will not protect your account from penalties.

What Counts as a Late Cancellation

A late cancellation occurs when you cancel your booking less than 4 hours before the event's start time. At this point, the platform no longer has enough time to:

• Find a replacement attendee
• Allow them to prepare and confirm attendance
• Communicate the change effectively to the venue

The consequences of late cancellation are direct:

• Your spot cannot be effectively reassigned
• The venue may receive fewer guests than expected
• Another user who wanted to attend missed their opportunity

Because of this, late cancellations result in a Strike being applied to your account.

The Difference Between Late Cancellation and No-Show

These are two distinct violations, and it is important to understand the difference:

Late Cancellation — You cancelled your booking, but did so less than 4 hours before the event. You took the action of cancelling, but too late for it to be useful. Result: a Strike.

No-Show — You did not attend the event and did not cancel at all (or cancelled after the event was already underway). You simply did not show up. Result: a Strike and temporary account deactivation.

A no-show is treated more severely than a late cancellation because it represents a complete failure of participation. At least with a late cancellation, the platform has some notice. With a no-show, there is none.

If you realize close to an event that you genuinely cannot attend, always cancel even if you are within the 4-hour window. A late cancellation is penalized, but it is less severe than a no-show.

Why No-Shows Are Treated Seriously

A no-show affects three different parties simultaneously:

The venue — They prepared for a guest who never arrived. Depending on the event format, this may mean a reserved table sat empty, a spot was held without use, or the overall guest experience was affected.

Other users — Someone who wanted to attend was not offered your spot because it was being held by you. That user missed an opportunity because of your failure to engage.

The platform — Reliability is central to The Secret Society's value proposition. Venues trust the platform to deliver engaged, committed participants. No-shows erode that trust.

This is why the penalty for a no-show includes not just a Strike but also temporary account deactivation. It is a signal that your participation must be taken seriously.

What Happens to Your Account After a Late Cancellation or No-Show

Both late cancellations and no-shows result in a Strike being added to your account. Each Strike carries the following consequences:

• Your account is deactivated for 6 days
• During this period, you cannot participate normally in the platform
• Your reliability score is negatively affected

If you accumulate 3 Strikes, your account is permanently deactivated. This is a serious outcome that is entirely avoidable through responsible behaviour.

The Strike system is not designed to be punitive for its own sake — it is designed to ensure that users who hold spots in events are genuinely committed to attending them. The 4-hour cancellation window gives users a meaningful opportunity to cancel without consequence when plans change.

How to Avoid Accidental Late Cancellations

Only accept events you are genuinely committed to. The most effective way to avoid late cancellations is to be selective when accepting invitations. If there is any meaningful doubt about your availability, do not accept.

Check for conflicts before accepting. Before tapping accept, look at your calendar, consider your energy levels, and think through any potential issues that might arise between now and the event.

Monitor your bookings regularly. Check your "To Confirm" and "To Visit" sections frequently. If you realize you can no longer attend an upcoming event, cancel immediately — do not wait to see if things might work out.

Set reminders. When you accept an event, set a reminder for the cancellation deadline (4 hours before the event). If circumstances have changed by that point, you still have time to cancel cleanly.

Summary

You can cancel any booking without penalty if you do so more than 4 hours before the event. Cancelling within the 4-hour window is a late cancellation and results in a Strike. Not showing up at all is a no-show, which results in a Strike and temporary account deactivation. Always cancel through the app — simply not appearing is never acceptable. If you must cancel late, still cancel rather than no-showing. Protect your account by only accepting events you are fully committed to, monitoring your bookings regularly, and acting early if plans change.

Updated on: 01/05/2026